Masterchef finalist to open Japanese cookery classes in Crouch End

A Masterchef finalist who left the TV competition on Wednesday will open Japanese cooking classes in Crouch End in April.

Aki Matsushima, who was in the final 12 of the TV cooking competition, will juggle the evening and weekend cooking classes with her physics PHD which she is currently studying for at Imperial College London.

The 25-year-old, who will run the classes in her dad’s Japanese restaurant – Nakamain Topsfield Parade, said she is excited to start teaching people living in Haringey how to cook foods that she is passionate about creating.

The student said: “Japanese food is on trend at the moment and it is so healthy and classy that I think people in the area will like to learn how to cook it. “People are really aware of how on trend Japanese food is at the moment of the health benefit.”

She said she is feeling confident about starting her first cookery classes because she had to cope under pressure while cooking in front of judges as part of the TV competition.

The young cook, from Finchley, said she really enjoyed her experience on the BBC show but found it challenging because she has little experience cooking foods other than Japanese cuisine.

Miss Matsushima, who had to complete several trials in the TV show which restricted the ingredients she could cook with, said: “The show was really difficult - I learnt a tremendous amount, but I really specialise in Japanese cooking so I really built upon that.

“I guess I am an above average chef on the whole but I really excel in Japanese cooking.”
The student, who has a physics degree from the University of Cambridge, has a year and a half left of her PHD and is whether to pursue a path in physics or cookery as a full-time career.
Miss Matsushima started cooking when she was eight years old.

She said she is from a “foody family” and was taught to cook by her parents and her grandparents who are Japanese.

PIcture from Nakama website